Democratic organization whose primary purpose is to assist in the election of progressive, pro-choic Board members are elected by the membership every year.
In 1992, many women were inspired by the Senatorial campaign of then-Congresswoman Barbara Boxer. Many of these women had never been involved in politics before; to use a common expression, they had come out of the woodwork to volunteer on her campaign. They propelled her to success, first in the June Democratic primary over Lieutenant Governor Leo McCarthy, Representative Mel Levine, and Charles
Greene, and then in the November general election over Republican Bruce Herschensohn. Having tasted victory and experienced their own power for the first (and second) time, they did not want to go back into the woodwork. So after the victory celebrations, after Senator-elect Boxer had been sworn into office, after a much needed rest, on Sunday, January 24 1993, these women gathered, as they had so many times during the campaign, at the Sunnyvale home of Willie Wool, to decide where they would go from here. Using the working title of the Gender Gap Committee, they decided on their goal: they wanted to form a local organization with the primary purpose of electing women to public office. They then had to decide what form this organization would take. They could become a chapter of the National Women's Political Caucus (NWPC), except that there already was a Santa Clara County chapter of NWPC. They could become a chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW), except that there already were local chapters of NOW in the area. A local Democratic activist (male, as it happened) who had worked side by side with these women during the Boxer campaign suggested that the niche they could fill could be that of a county-wide Democratic Club with the focus of electing women, sort of a local Emily's List, and since Emily's List was not structured around local chapters they would not be competing with an existing organization. A Democratic Club did mean that the few Republican and Decline-to-State women who had been active on the Boxer campaign could not become voting members, and this was a point of much discussion, but in the end the majority of the group, with some regret, decided that this is what they wanted to be. Since our inception, DAWN has
*Helped Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren win her upset victory in the June 1994 primary.
*Vetted and supported numerous pro-choice, progressive city council, county supervisor, and school board candidates, as well as candidates for state and federal office, for election.
*Provided thousands of dollars in support to women Democrats running for office, and to support or oppose local and state measures which disproportionately affect women.
*Held various forums on local candidates, the Women’s Caucus, choice, NAFTA, the politics of breast cancer, understanding the Democratic Party, women & war in Bosnia, economics & analysis of election results.
*Played a key role in organizing the pro-choice defense of medical facilities during Operation Rescue’s summer offensive in San Jose.
*Worked with the victim, and other local groups to lobby the Santa Clara County District Attorney to reconsider her decision not to prosecute in the 2007 De Anza R**e Case
*Partnered with Planned Parenthood to defeat 3 anti-choice initiatives placed on the ballot in 5 years.
*In 2008, endorsed and supported the first viable woman Presidential candidate -- Hillary Clinton
*Since 2008 we have sponsored Emerge California candidates from Santa Clara County; a program that focuses on training strong, Democratic, pro-choice women to run for office. Our board consists entirely of women volunteers who are active in local and national politics. Elections are held at our normal board meeting location, SEIU 521, at 2302 Zanker Rd, San Jose, CA, and all DAWN members are encouraged to attend and participate (members must have been current for at least 30 days in order to vote).
